Cristal Room Baccarat: new décor, new chef and new menu

Cristal Room Baccarat is transformed. Displaying a new decoration resolutely more modern designed by interior designer Jacques Grange, the restaurant also welcomes a new chef, Mathieu Mécheri, who perfectly knows how to make our taste buds quiver thanks to a refined, gourmet and creative menu.

The next time you visit Cristal Room Baccarat in Paris, you may notice a change. Nestled in a sumptuous former private mansion in the 16th arrondissement, the restaurant is now managed by Groupe Ludéric (also entrusted with Mini Palais at the Grand Palais, Ralph’s in Boulevard Saint-Germain and Café des Concerts in La Villette or Champeaux in Les Halles).

To give a new breath of life to Cristal Room Baccarat, Ludéric offered the place a new image, betting on a new decoration first. Good riddance to Philippe Starck’s décor and hello Jacques Grange’s creation. On the first floor, this staging is openly more modern and colorful and also displays a magnificent counter. Chandeliers and Maison Baccarat’s splendid works are still displayed in the restaurant, on the ceiling, the mantelpieces and on the tables.

Regarding the menu, the restaurant left multi-starred restaurateur Guy Martin’s dishes behind to promote and highlight Chef Mathieu Mécheri’s cuisine. The one who started his career with Chef Stéphane d’Aboville at Mini Palais offer Cristal Room Baccarat a fresh, creative, and gourmet cuisine inspired by the story of the crystal glass-making.

We must tell you that it’s a very beautiful and exquisite gastronomic experience we were lucky enough to live out.

Everything starts with the starter and especially with one of the Chef’s signature dishes, the surprising and delicious Oeuf Mystère [Mystery Egg] enhanced by its fine wild mushroom creamy soup.

Oeuf mystère

My partner goes for a very autumn-like starter: a flavorful Jerusalem artichoke soup with chestnut sprinklers.

The tasting continues on with succulent and very soft slices of roasted monkfish with Colonna bacon, stuffed concciglionni and its basil pistou. An excellent main course with Mediterranean twists that literally seduced my taste buds.

Roasted monkfish with Colonna bacon and stuffed concciglionnis

Female clientele oblige, fish is given pride of place with the pearly cod with its vegetables in a chorizo broth, pan-fried scallops served with chicories and citrus fruits and how about a meuniere flounder with its celeriac mousseline with coconut milk?

Regarding meat-lovers, they’ll enjoy themselves with one of the restaurant major main courses: the roasted and perfectly cook saddle of lamb and its bulgur with dry fruits and harissa.

Saddle of lamb

You can also discover the 300-gr veal rib with Roseval gratin or the crispy veal kidneys with half-cooked in balsamic Cook’s cabbage.

And because we’re sweet-toothed foodies, we couldn’t help ourselves but discover desserts with on one hand – for chocolate lovers like me – the Cristal’s all things chocolate, a dessert based on praline chocolate in many ways (liquid, chilled, puff pastry…), and on the other hand, the Lorraine Mirabelle liqueur soufflé!

Lorraine Mirabelle liqueur soufflé

With this change of pitch and menu, Cristal Room Baccarat definitely got it right, betting on a cuisine fulfilling skilled gastronomes and at very affordable prices. You’ve now no more reason not to enter this place that will blow you away!

Practical information:Cristal Room Baccarat (website in French) 11 place des Etats-Unis – 75116 Paris Lunch from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. (except on Sunday and Monday) / Dinner from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. (except on Sunday and Monday) Lunch menu for €29 (Starter/Main or Main/Dessert) Main course of the day for €22 Individual reservation and booking up to 20 persons by calling +33 (0)1 40 22 11 10